1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the delivery of mail and packages and, more specifically, to the preservation of a receiving party's privacy in relation to a sending party.
2. Related Art
Modern postal systems use various addressing schemes to specify delivery destinations for mail, packages, and other articles dispatched from sending parties to receiving parties. For example, in the United States, destination addresses typically include separate fields identifying a receiving party's name, street number, street name, city, state, and ZIP+4 code. This format allows public and private delivery agents to readily determine physical delivery locations with ease.
In most cases, the delivery address identified in conventional postal addressing schemes corresponds to the actual physical address of a receiving party's place of business or residence. This can be problematic in several respects. In particular, the unauthorized disclosure of a receiving party's physical address can result in a loss of privacy for the receiving party. For example, it is common practice for newspaper and magazine publishers to offer subscriber lists for sale to direct mail marketers and advertisers. As a result, a receiving party's physical address may be provided to other entities not originally contemplated by the receiving party. Moreover, even where publishers may permit the receiving party to “opt-out” of such information sharing, it is typically incumbent on the receiving party to individually contact every publisher in order to utilize such options.
A receiving party's physical address may also be used as a proxy for determining the receiving party's social and economic status. For example, it is well known that addresses corresponding to particular communities are often associated with wealth or social status. In this regard, disclosure of the receiving party's physical address can inadvertently provide other persons with sufficient information to visit the receiving party's home or business for nefarious purposes, or engage in identity theft.
Another problem applicable to current addressing schemes arises when a receiving party's physical address changes temporarily or permanently. When the receiving party relocates to a new physical address, notifications must be provided to all potential sending parties from which the receiving party routinely, and even rarely, receives mail. If the number of sending parties is particularly large, this can be an overwhelmingly difficult, and sometimes impossible task. Moreover, even when sending parties are informed of the new address, propagation delays may result in some mail being lost or mis-delivered.
One approach to the various problems above involves the use of conventional post office boxes. Post office boxes are typically located at physical locations removed from a receiving party's physical address and therefore can prevent sending parties from visiting the receiving party's business or residence. Post office boxes also typically require keyed access and therefore provide some measure of security. In addition, if the receiving party's physical address changes, mail can be sent to the post office box without interruption.
Unfortunately, post office boxes still require the receiving party to travel to the actual location of the post office box in order to retrieve mail. Also, many private delivery agents may not provide delivery service to post office boxes. Moreover, if a receiving party's physical address changes to a location far away from the post office box, it may be necessary for the receiving party to obtain a new post office box and have all mail redirected to the new box. Such inconveniences can outweigh the privacy advantages of post office boxes for many individuals.
Another approach to handling address changes is the use of forwarding services provided by postal services, such as the United States Postal Service (USPS). However, such services are typically temporary in nature and can have varying degrees of reliability. Such forwarding services also typically do not inform sending parties of the receiving party's actual new address. As a result, the burden remains on the receiving party to inform all sending parties of the new address before the forwarding service expires.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved approach to addressing schemes that overcome the limitations of conventional systems identified above.